What Lurks in the Forest
by TheOpenedWay
Summary: She is bright and beautiful and everything that they aren't. She made the mistake of getting caught up with them and now that she's been pulled in too deep all she can do is try to see the good in their world. MenSakuNaru. Mature Situations and Violence.
1. Prologue

_The wendigo is a demonic half-beast creature common in ancient folklore. It is said that the gods themselves created them to be the living embodiments of human gluttony, greed, and excess. Humans have sinned exorbitantly so there is just too much for a single wendigo to embody, often causing two separate spirits inside one form to balance out all of mankind's wrongdoing. _

_People who have encountered them associate them with the winter, the north, and coldness, as well as with famine and starvation. Legends tell that a wendigo will only feed off of human flesh and blood; desiring nothing else._

_If a man ever resorts to a life of cannibalism he will soon be hunted by a wendigo and eaten alive; possibly becoming one himself._

_Though, these are just simple stories passed on from elder to young; the truth being stretched over too many generations to count._

_Well, that is what the ignorant youth would say; too caught up in current beliefs and technology over spiritual folklore and wise elders._

_But just because no one believes anymore, does not mean it will go away._

* * *

"Sakura, eh? That's a beautiful name."

"R-really?" She hiccupped, rubbing her mittens against her plump, baby fattened cheeks.

"Of course! You better believe it, Sakura-chan!"

She sniffled, on the verge of tears again.

"Eh, what's wrong, Sakura-chan? I don't like seeing you cry so much."

She sniffled again, hiding her face in her palms. "The big kids make fun of my name and my hair. They say it's pretty but they don't mean it." The little girl mumbled.

"You take this to heart, Sakura-chan,"He said kindly, poking the part of her chest above her heart. "They are full of hate and hate is bad. Don't ever let that hate get to you, ok?" The tiny, pink haired girl looked up at him. Her light green eyes were glossed over with tears but he just smiled. "So don't listen to them… for me?"

The four year old nodded, soon smiling up at him as if he were Santa presenting her with a sack full of presents. She was such a cute, young kid; so untainted from the world. He wished she could stay like this forever; that everyone could stay like this forever.

"Do you want to play with me, Sakura-chan? I won't be mean to you and I bet I am more fun than all of those Konoha kids anyway!"

"Yeah!" She giggled. Her tears were history as she grabbed the man's hand to try and pull him away. "Let's make a snow fort! No one has ever made one with me."

He allowed her to tug him towards the closest snow bank before she plopped down on her knees and started packing snow.

"The kids at school say that you need a fort before you can have a snowball fight. I've never built a nice fort before because no one wants to be on my team, but now you're on my team and we can have our own fight!"

Sakura chattered on as he picked up snow, forced it into something that resembled a brick, and built up the foundation of their soon-to-be fort. She talked about school and her parents and how her fifth birthday is coming up in March. She was happy and bright and everything that he wished he could resemble.

Their fort was just over a foot tall and nowhere near being closed to finished when Sakura's name was being called.

"Oh!" Sakura dropped the snow and stood up. "That's my mom." Sakura turned to look at him, her greens eyes sparkling as an idea formed in her mind. "Come meet my mom!"

"Uh, Sakura-chan,"

"You can come over and look at all of my toys and drink hot chocolate. My mom makes the best hot chocolate."

"Sakura, I don't—"

"She puts marshmallows and whip cream on top and sometimes she puts a candy cane in and it is so yum—"

He grabbed her hand roughly, forcing her to stop talking and look at him. "No, Sakura. I can't meet your mom, ok?"

Her smile fell. "W-why?"

"I have to stay out here for a bit, ok?" He mumbled. "I live out here and the sun is setting. It wouldn't be safe for me to walk back home in the dark, right?" He could tell she wanted to argue but she nodded solemnly anyway. "Now turn that frown back into that super pretty smile of yours!" He said, grinning as he poked her frosty cheeks.

Sakura giggled and smiled brightly, poking his cheeks back. "Ok! We can play again, right?"

"Of course, but you can't tell anyone about me, ok? We wouldn't want anyone getting jealous, right? I'll be your little secret. Promise?"

"Promise!" She squealed, obviously excited to have a friend when all she had before were school bullies.

"Sakura?! Are you coming home?" The woman's voice yelled again. Closer this time.

"Bye bye… uhm…?"

"Right now my name is Naruto." He grinned cheekily.

"Right now?" She asked, but she didn't dwell on it. "Bye Naruto-kun!" Sakura said. She turned around and ran along the snow covered path back into town.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. "I'm your little secret; remember that!"

The pink haired girl stopped and turned to face him with a bright smile. "Yeah!"

"_You're my little secret."_

* * *

Whew, done with the prologue. I plan to write many more chapters but I would love to hear some input on this. I've seen very little MenSaku fics around…. Or Menma fics in general, I guess… Maybe if this takes off successfully I'll start a trend! C:

Don't worry, I plan on explaining much more about Wendigo's and how Naruto/Menma will tie into that while also forming a relationship with Sakura. Just keep an open mind!

Thanks for reading and please review!

You know you want to.

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	2. Menma

Naruto-kun said that he wanted to play with her again today. He was always so smiley and fun whenever they met up deep in the forest. He would give her hugs, smiles, and he would always say how pretty she was. Her mom said that sometimes boys are mean to girls they like, but she knew that all of the mean school boys didn't like her at all; Naruto-kun did! Unlike her classmates, Naruto-kun never made fun of her forehead or her long, pink hair. Naruto-kun was a boy who really liked her!

Naruto-kun was her little secret, he would always say. Sakura liked that. One of her teachers said that secrets could be really bad, but Sakura never had one before, so she wanted to keep this one to herself. She knew that Ino kept secrets and so did Sasuke! Everyone liked them, so maybe secrets were really good things and her teacher didn't want her to be part of them. But she had Naruto-kun now! So the joke is on them!

Naruto-kun also said not to tell her mom, so she didn't. She knew her mom didn't like teenage boys and that she wanted Sakura to be friends with the kids in her class, but none of them liked her. She didn't want her mom to stop her from seeing Naruto-kun! Then she wouldn't have any friends! So, she lied and said that she was going out to play whenever Naruto-kun asked her to come out again, which wasn't a lie.

Sakura sat down inside the small snow fort Naruto had made for her many weeks ago. It would probably stand sturdy for another two months before the warmer season came to the little northern town. The clouds overhead held every indication of snow, which had Sakura giggling excitedly. Maybe she could take Naruto-kun sledding!

"Sakura?" A voice asked from behind her.

Sakura turned around to see a man that looked a lot like her Naruto-kun. He had dark black hair that was a bit longer than Naruto's; it reminded her of Kiba from her class. He had blue eyes like Naruto's but just a bit darker. His skin was a bit tanner too. They both had weird whisker markings on their cheeks and they looked like the same height too.

He was actually kind of scary looking. "Uhm…. Hello…" She said quietly. Where was Naruto-kun? Why didn't she hear this man walk up?

The dark man stood out against the snowy landscape as he awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "You're uhm, friends with Naruto, right?"

At the mention of her best friend's name, Sakura squealed with a bright smile on her face. "Yeah, do you know Naruto-kun? I'm supposed to play with him today!"

"Naruto and I are pretty close," He said, slowly walking towards her. When he was close enough he waved his hand at the snow fort Sakura was currently occupying. "Can I sit?" When Sakura approved with an overly eager head nod, he sat. "We're actually brothers…."

That got her full attention.

"Wow! You're Naruto-kun's brother? Naruto-kun is my bestest friend! I'm supposed to play with him today."

He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "Yeah, you said that… Well, we're kind of like brothers. Not really though…"

She giggled. "You're weird, mister."

He huffed in response and crossed his arms over his chest, not willing to admit that he was pouting like someone her age.

"No, you're weird."

She giggled. "What's your name?"

He uncrossed his arms and stared at her. She was such a smiley little girl. It was a no brainer why Naruto attached himself to her so quickly. Not that _he_ liked her so much right from the start. She was just… cute. He had to meet lighthearted pinkette for himself.

"I guess you can call me Menma for now,"

Sakura was so gleeful. He could practically see a sunshine-like aura radiating from her. "Nice to meet you, Menma-kun!" She grinned up at him.

Her toothy grin was contagious and he allowed himself to smile back down at her. "Right back at you, kid."

"Is Naruto-kun going to be coming soon?" Sakura said, shyly scuffing her feet in the snow.

He held his smile as he looked down at her. She really was a cute kid; happy, bright, and sweet to the core. Hate hasn't sunken its dastardly claws into her yet. Both he and Naruto could feel the town of Konoha becoming more filled with hatred, making them crave more flesh to tamper down all of the angry emotions of the residing people. But Sakura, young Sakura was so happy and calm. She didn't let her bullies get to her. She bounced back nicely and smiled brightly. She gave off a tranquil feeling which curbed his hate filled hunger.

Yes, he decided he liked her just as much as Naruto.

"No, Naruto couldn't make it today, so I came for him. He didn't want you to be out here all alone." She grinned up at him and he smirked right back. "There are monsters out here, you know?"

She immediately became awed. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Iruka-sensei says that there are bears, wolves, and mountain lions, but they live deeper in the forest."

"Well, that Iruka dude isn't lying," Menma leaned down closer to her face and lowered his voice to a whisper. "But did your little sensei tell you about what else lurks in the forest? Things like spirits, demons, and evil creatures that lurk around out of sight? The evil monsters that eat people like you just for fun?"

She pouted. "Are you trying to scare me?" She sent him a vicious, green eyed glare. "I don't like getting scared."

Menma couldn't help but laugh heartily. This little toddler was such a trip. He leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees. "Nope, never. You're too tough Sakura." He pinched her peachy little nose, getting a giggle out of her. "But don't think that they aren't real. Bad things are out there, but you have Naruto and me to protect you, ok?"

Sakura scooted around on her snowy seat excitedly. "Yeah!"

Menma leaned back against the small, snow wall. She started fixing up small dents and cracks all along the inside of her precious fort to amuse herself. He couldn't help but smile again, which he hasn't done much of in past years. Naruto was right, there was something special about her and he was glad that he came out to meet her, especially since he hasn't been out in quite a while.

Sakura was talking on and on about school and her parents and even little tidbits about Naruto. He gave his two cents here and there just so she wouldn't think he was ignoring her. Though, he didn't really have much to say.

He was patching up a large crack when she sat down next to him suddenly. Her face was downturned when she said his name. "Menma-kun?"

"Hm?"

Then she turned those big, larger than life green eyes on him. What kind of gene pool did she swim in to get such enchanting eyes?

"Can you come to Konoha? Naruto-kun can't and I want to have sleepovers like Ino-pig and play at the park like everyone in class… My mom doesn't like teenagers but I'm sure she'll like you and Naruto-kun!"

And she whipped those sad, spell-casting eyes on him and if he were a lesser being… or Naruto… he would probably melt.

She was too young to understand everything quite yet, so he had to step carefully or else he could have everything blow up in his face.

"Sakura," He sighed. "Just like Naruto, I'm your little secret. You have to keep us to yourself for a bit."

"But I don't want to!" She cried out, her eyes becoming watery. Her head dropped.

"Sakura…" He sighed again. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips downturned. She was still cute, even if she was about to blubber like a baby. "Naruto explains this to you every time."

"No he doesn't."

"Yes he does." He sighed. He did that a hell of a lot today. "Naruto doesn't like it when you cry and I really don't either so stop."

Sakura must have been used to Naruto and probably her parents coddling, so his blunt words made her scrunch her face.

Another sigh passed his lips. "Crying doesn't suit you, Sakura."

"I just want to show everyone that I have friends too." Sakura said, her voice muffled as she hid behind her mittens.

He wasn't like Naruto and he couldn't find it in himself to pick her up and make her feel better. But she looked so devastated. He knew that she was bullied a lot, he could feel the hate she received from the other children and it made him want to tear something to shreds. She just wanted to have a friend to show off.

But he and Naruto couldn't live up to that title just yet.

The pink haired girl moved her hands and he seized the opportunity to pinch her nose again. He couldn't help but relish in her little giggle; at least her eyes were starting to dry.

"Naruto and I will… you know… be here," Menma mumbled blandly. "So don't cry, ok?"

"You sound like Naruto-kun." She sniffled, but still managed to smile up at him.

Menma huffed. "Whatever," The wind started to pick up, making Sakura shiver. "Maybe it's time for you to go back home, Sakura."

Said girl looked absolutely horrified at the idea. "No! I want to stay with you, Menma-kun!"

"If you get sick you won't be able to play with us." Sakura began to look even more petrified than before. He had to hold back a chuckle. "Here, I'll walk you part of the way home." His voice was soft but firm. No more room for arguments.

Sakura nodded with a bright smile on her face. One of her hands made its way into the palm that Menma held out to her. He clenched his hand around her mittened one as she skipped next to him. They walked along the snow covered path that led to her village; Sakura hummed a tune he couldn't recognize the whole way. He walked her all the way to the park and managed to keep himself hidden from any possible eyes under the tree cover.

This is where they had to part ways. Thankfully, Sakura seemed to understand that.

"Bye bye, Menma-kun! Tell Naruto-kun that I missed him."

Menma nodded, crouching down to her level.

"I'll only tell him if you promise to keep us as your little secret."

Sakura swung their clasped hands back and forth happily. "I promise."

* * *

Sorry for any errors, I'm lazy. I guess you can call this Menma's prologue? Don't worry. Menma is going to be way more bad ass. Just gimme some time. I think I'm going to have one more chapter with Sakura as a child and then there will be a time skip with plenty of explanation on Menma and Naruto and their relationship with Sakura and yadda yadda yadda.

I would love to hear your thoughts! Please, leave me a review. I need the feedback so I can grow! C:

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